Who doesn’t love a great summer party? If you’re hosting, do it with style.

Never before have we had the option to purchase such bright, colourful and stylish patio wear. Acrylic glassware that looks almost as sophisticated as your good crystal; dinnerware that unless you pick it up you’d swear it was fine china.

Don’t be afraid to mix up the colours of your dinnerware so you can layer and exploit those vibrant hues of summer.

We all want outdoor spaces to be extensions of our indoor rooms, to allow our design esthetic and colour palette to flow from the living room to the patio. When you are shopping for your outdoor spaces, keep these tips top of mind.

From toss cushions for lounge chairs to tableware to accessories for the patio, I always shop with the same vision for outdoors as I have for the neighbouring indoor space. For centrepieces and accents on patio tables, we use ceramic vases (weighted down with gravel or sand to prevent wind damage), candle sticks and sculptural pieces that typically would be seen inside a home. Why not?

To ease food delivery and prep from the indoor kitchen to the patio dining space, invest in a wheel-based bar cart. They are invaluable when entertaining and you can easily serve appetizers, cocktails and barbecue ingredients in style. I keep several at home and all too often one serves as my margarita station and the other as my decadent tapenade cart.

If you’re going to leave it outside, opt for a stainless cart; if storage is indoors, consider a wood and metal option.

Carts are also the perfect place to store and display all of that great patio dinner and glassware.

I wanted to share one of the easiest and most loved appetizers in my family’s repertoire (perfect to wheel out on your new cart) — bacon-wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates. Simply fill the centre of a large date with a dollop of blue cheese, wrapped in a half slice of bacon and then bake in a 375 F oven until the bacon is cooked. These will be gone instantly and can be prepped well in advance.

An important deck design tip — think about the transition from inside to outside and incorporate materials that work with the colour, scale and texture of your interior flooring. When we design these decks for clients, we also try to avoid the “solo step” that has too many folks tripping on that one level transition.

Outdoor spaces as gorgeous and well used as your indoor spaces — that’s what fabulous summer living is all about.